MIKE McCLURE/Star-Tribune correspondent

State Rep. Del McOmie, R-Lander, laughs as Rep. Lorna Johnson, D-Laramie, reaches for her winnings of $3.25 from a video poker machine at the Northern Arapaho tribe's 789 Bingo hall.

AP/file photo

An artist's conception of the proposed casino on the Wind River Indian Reservation near Riverton.

RIVERTON - A casino on the Wind River Indian Reservation will have an estimated annual payroll of $5 million and create 120 new jobs, helping the Northern Arapaho tribe provide for its people, Wyoming lawmakers were told this week.

Members of the Legislature's Select Committee on Tribal Relations got a preview of the casino the tribe is building a mile south of this city on a bluff above the Wind River along Wyoming Highway 789. The legislators toured the tribe's existing 789 Bingo hall, located near the casino construction site, and reviewed architect plans by Charles Schiffner of Phoenix, a student of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

Rep. Del McOmie, R-Lander, even gave House Speaker Fred Parady, R-Rock Springs, instruction on how to play electronic bingo in the hall. Parady invested $2 and got $13 back from a buzzing and blinking bingo machine.

"Game operations may not be the answer to everything," said Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Burton Hutchinson, but gaming in most Indian communities boosts tribal employment and increases tourism.

The tribe has more than 7,600 members, with 35 percent of that number under the age of 16. The unemployment rate is over 65 percent. Profits from the casino can be used to help fund such tribal programs as medical assistance, housing, education and social services, tribal officials say.

The Wind River Casino is projected to open by the fall of 2005, but it's not certain what type of gambling will be offered there. Mark Howell, a public and government relations consultant for the Northern Arapaho, said tribal leaders have a Nov. 23 meeting with Interior Department officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss that issue. Tribal leaders hope Interior will sign off on their plans.

If the project gets the full blessing from Interior, the casino could open at the Class III level, meaning Las Vegas-style gaming. That would start with six blackjack tables and a couple of roulette tables, and later expand to include craps tables and poker rooms, said David Staddon, general manager for tribal gaming operations.

Even if Interior doesn't approve a full casino operation, the new building should be open by next fall, Staddon said. The casino could open as a Class II gaming operation, meaning electronic bingo and a bingo hall.

"We can pay off the construction debt with a Class II operation," Staddon said.

The casino plans incorporate traditional Northern Arapaho design patterns. Viewed from the air, it will look like thick segments of a great circle, with segments used as a casino and retail/entertainment facility, as well as a hotel.

"I envision four phases," Staddon said. The first phase, now under construction, is the casino complex, with an expansion as the second phase.

The third phase, perhaps by 2007, will be a 100-room hotel on the other side of the great circle, Staddon said.

"The quality we envision is that it would be three-diamond rated," he said.

"The fourth phase is that I get to retire," he joked.

The casino will be on a 46-acre site, with a property "footprint" of 15 acres.

According to a casino fact sheet from the tribe, the $10.3 million project will house a 4,800-square-foot gaming floor with 400 electronic machines and eight table games. There will also be a 5,200-square-foot bingo hall and entertainment center, with seating for 300 and 500 guests, respectively.

Other amenities include food and beverage operations and retail space.

Staddon said senior- and mid-level management would initially be brought in from out of state. Education, training and on-the-job experience would ultimately lead to tribal members holding top management jobs, he said.

Construction is on a brief hiatus, waiting for additional financing, Staddon said. As of three weeks ago, the foundations, footing and utility stems were all poured or installed.

"We can resume construction any time and erect the shell of the building," Staddon said. Wiring and plumbing can then be installed, with slabs poured in the spring.

McOmie said he wishes the Northern Arapaho the best with this new venture.

"If they're going to go this route, they have to have the amenities," he said, "because there is so much competition."

To attract customers, the Wind River Casino will have to be "top drawer," he said, to compete with casinos in nearby states.